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1854 Gold $1 help please from the gold guys New pic added to show scratches.

So my mom sent me this and 2 other gold $1 coins I have not imaged yet one is badly removed from jewelry. Anyway This was my grand mothers and now my mom has given it to me to do with what I want. I would like to know if this has any value above melt as I have no real knowledge about gold coins. Any help would be greatly appreciated and It looks cleaned as it has hairlines but I know most circulated gold does so here it is.

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Comments

  • CaptHenwayCaptHenway Posts: 32,079 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Some problems, but not a horrible Type Two. Definitely worth over melt.
    Numismatist. 50 year member ANA. Winner of four ANA Heath Literary Awards; three Wayte and Olga Raymond Literary Awards; Numismatist of the Year Award 2009, and Lifetime Achievement Award 2020. Winner numerous NLG Literary Awards.
  • commoncents05commoncents05 Posts: 10,085 ✭✭✭
    If you think that coin is cleaned, I would stop buying coins for a while and look at more coins. That coin is 100% original. A few reverse scratches would probably prevent it from grading, but the surfaces are exactly what you would look for. Definitely worth more than melt even with the scratches.

    -Paul
    Many Quality coins for sale at http://www.CommonCentsRareCoins.com
  • HoledandCreativeHoledandCreative Posts: 2,794 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Looks pretty good to me. I'm sure I would pay a lot more than melt if offered.
  • BoosibriBoosibri Posts: 12,103 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>If you think that coin is cleaned, I would stop buying coins for a while and look at more coins. That coin is 100% original. A few reverse scratches would probably prevent it from grading, but the surfaces are exactly what you would look for. Definitely worth more than melt even with the scratches.

    -Paul >>



    I agree with Paul
  • stevebensteveben Posts: 4,610 ✭✭✭✭✭
    i'd keep it as is. pretty nice gift!
  • PerryHallPerryHall Posts: 46,073 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Looks original to me. Not sure if those scratches on the reverse would keep it from being graded or not. I guess it depends on how it looks in hand and how distracting they are. The trouble with large pics is that small flaws look far worse than they look when examining the coin in hand

    Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
    "Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
    "Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire

  • BillJonesBillJones Posts: 33,930 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I grade this piece as a VF-30, and think that it would get a grade if it were to be submitted to a certification service. Some scratches are to be expected in this grade.

    On a personal note my first gold coin was an 1854 type II gold dollar. It was not as nice as this one, and I sold it for a couple hundred dollars back in the mid 1970s.
    Retired dealer and avid collector of U.S. type coins, 19th century presidential campaign medalets and selected medals. In recent years I have been working on a set of British coins - at least one coin from each king or queen who issued pieces that are collectible. I am also collecting at least one coin for each Roman emperor from Julius Caesar to ... ?
  • PerryHallPerryHall Posts: 46,073 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>I grade this piece as a VF-30, and think that it would get a grade if it were to be submitted to a certification service. Some scratches are to be expected in this grade.

    On a personal note my first gold coin was an 1854 type II gold dollar. It was not as nice as this one, and I sold it for a couple hundred dollars back in the mid 1970s. >>



    I would bet this coin would get an XF-40 grade based on the reverse detail. This coin usually comes with weak details which is why this design didn't last long and was changed by the mint to a design with a flatter relief.

    Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
    "Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
    "Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire

  • CharlotteDudeCharlotteDude Posts: 3,007 ✭✭✭✭✭
    From the pics - and great pics, btw - I'd say the coin would most likely grade, and at XF-40. The only wildcard are the scratches in the middle reverse. Not a definite showstopper, but they could hinder a graded holder, or cause a net grade to VF-35 or VF-30.

    Nice looking coin, nonetheless.

    'dude
    Got Crust....y gold?
  • BryceMBryceM Posts: 11,792 ✭✭✭✭✭
    If you don't already know, there are three basic "types" of gold dollars and this 1854 is a type 2, the rarest (by far) of the three types (but the 1854 is a common type 2 date). The type 2 is also usually poorly made. The incomplete "LL" in "DOLLAR" of the reverse and the "8" in "1854" is most likely the result of a poor strike. Clash marks are visible on the reverse of your coin as they are on most examples. The little copper spot on the obverse is often seen and most wouldn't object to it. The overall look is original and nice. I'm in the camp that says it would probably grade just fine, but I would only send it in if I was looking to sell it.

    Melt on these is virtually nothing - $69 at current prices. The Price Guide shows a VF30 at $330 which is in the neighborhood where a graded example will sell for enough to justify the grading fees.


  • << <i>If you think that coin is cleaned, I would stop buying coins for a while and look at more coins. That coin is 100% original. A few reverse scratches would probably prevent it from grading, but the surfaces are exactly what you would look for. Definitely worth more than melt even with the scratches.

    -Paul >>



    First off I did not buy this coin it was given to me by my mother, 2nd it has been cleaned at least one time by my Grandmother and possibly one time by my mother when she was around 8 to 10 years old so 58 years ago. The hairlines from cleaning are more evident when looking at this coin using a loupe. So I would stop telling people to stop buying coins from looking at an image of a coin you have not seen in hand.image


  • << <i>If you don't already know, there are three basic "types" of gold dollars and this 1854 is a type 2, the rarest (by far) of the three types (but the 1854 is a common type 2 date). The type 2 is also usually poorly made. The incomplete "LL" in "DOLLAR" of the reverse and the "8" in "1854" is most likely the result of a poor strike. Clash marks are visible on the reverse of your coin as they are on most examples. The little copper spot on the obverse is often seen and most wouldn't object to it. The overall look is original and nice. I'm in the camp that says it would probably grade just fine, but I would only send it in if I was looking to sell it.

    Melt on these is virtually nothing - $69 at current prices. The Price Guide shows a VF30 at $330 which is in the neighborhood where a graded example will sell for enough to justify the grading fees. >>



    Thank you Bryce That is the info I needed as I stated I do not know about these gold coins. I will reimage the coin with the lights lower to show the hairlines better to see what I am considering cleaning. I did not know that this was a type2 and that is also very helpful. I am working on getting more info from my mother on this and the 2 others she sent me but it is challenging at times as she has dementia, as strange as this is sometimes it helps as she remembers her childhood like it was just happening. About every 3 months she will send me a coin but this is the first gold she has sent. Based on the info I will most likely send it in and send it back with instructions to keep it but we will see with the new images.
  • BryceMBryceM Posts: 11,792 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Hairlines on gold are much less of an issue than they would be on silver. Gold is uniquely soft and a few hairlines are almost expected. These are much less bothersome than a smooth, heavily polished look.
  • AMRCAMRC Posts: 4,266 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Not a "melt" coin by any means.
    MLAeBayNumismatics: "The greatest hobby in the world!"
  • Here is an image with the lights way down on the coin to show the scratches, this is 300watts of light and the angle is extreme also as and that is why detail and color are lost.

    image
  • BryceMBryceM Posts: 11,792 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Yup. Pretty typical for a circulated gold coin. They don't bother me all that much. I don't think they'd be all that noticeable in-hand.
  • Thank you sir I appreciate it.
  • mercurydimeguymercurydimeguy Posts: 4,625 ✭✭✭✭
    Looks like a gold coin one would find in change.

    I don't see problems with it.
  • sparky64sparky64 Posts: 7,036 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Cool dollar. I like it.
    Congratulations on the gift from your mother.

    "If I say something in the woods and my wife isn't there to hear it.....am I still wrong?"

    My Washington Quarter Registry set...in progress

  • PerryHallPerryHall Posts: 46,073 ✭✭✭✭✭
    The bottom line is this coin is definitely worth the expense of getting it slabbed. If you do, let us know the results. Can we see what the other two gold coins look like?

    Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
    "Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
    "Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire

  • BillJonesBillJones Posts: 33,930 ✭✭✭✭✭
    The coin is worth slabbing because it is a decent example of a key gold type coin, and many collectors are concerned and, rightly so, about getting stuck with a counterfeit.
    Retired dealer and avid collector of U.S. type coins, 19th century presidential campaign medalets and selected medals. In recent years I have been working on a set of British coins - at least one coin from each king or queen who issued pieces that are collectible. I am also collecting at least one coin for each Roman emperor from Julius Caesar to ... ?
  • PerryHallPerryHall Posts: 46,073 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>The coin is worth slabbing because it is a decent example of a key gold type coin, and many collectors are concerned and, rightly so, about getting stuck with a counterfeit. >>



    Yup. The Type II gold dollar and the gold $3 are the keys to the standard 12 piece gold type set.

    Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
    "Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
    "Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire

  • ambro51ambro51 Posts: 13,774 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I'm surprised no one has correctly attributed the coin as Breen 6037, doubled die obverse. Easily seen in the triple row of beads near LIBERTY image
  • BillJonesBillJones Posts: 33,930 ✭✭✭✭✭
    That's nice Ambro, but buying "normal" Type II gold dollars costs a fortune. Since I now have the 1855 Charlotte and Dahlonega coins and an 1854-P for type, I've thought about getting the other three date and mint mark combinations I need to finish the short set. So far as die varieties go, I'm not interested.

    Die varieties are a frustrating, no fun form of collecting so far as I'm concerned. I used to collect half cents, and once I reached a certain point I slammed into a wall that I could not climb, dig under or walk around. Then when guys started collecting die states of the varieties I could not purchase, I knew it was time to quit. You might ask why I was not buying them.

    Reason #1 - They were wicked expensive.

    Reason #2 - Many coins are sold privately, and if you are not part of the "in group" you never get a shot at them.
    Retired dealer and avid collector of U.S. type coins, 19th century presidential campaign medalets and selected medals. In recent years I have been working on a set of British coins - at least one coin from each king or queen who issued pieces that are collectible. I am also collecting at least one coin for each Roman emperor from Julius Caesar to ... ?
  • ambro51ambro51 Posts: 13,774 ✭✭✭✭✭
    This isn't "your" thread Bill so let's let the OP enjoy getting a Rarity before sending down the yellow rain on him, OK?
  • BillJonesBillJones Posts: 33,930 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>This isn't "your" thread Bill so let's let the OP enjoy getting a Rarity before sending down the yellow rain on him, OK? >>



    No, not OK. PM sent.
    Retired dealer and avid collector of U.S. type coins, 19th century presidential campaign medalets and selected medals. In recent years I have been working on a set of British coins - at least one coin from each king or queen who issued pieces that are collectible. I am also collecting at least one coin for each Roman emperor from Julius Caesar to ... ?
  • stevebensteveben Posts: 4,610 ✭✭✭✭✭
    cool variety!


  • << <i>This isn't "your" thread Bill so let's let the OP enjoy getting a Rarity before sending down the yellow rain on him, OK? >>



    What was meant by this comment? what am I not understanding about this coin as it is not my area of collecting, I am silver and copper and have never gone after gold coins.

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